Kaduna State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mallam Mohammad Sani Abdullahi, has disclosed that the former government spent N2.1 billion on sweets and juices, while N600 milllion was spent on the purchase of newspapers annually.
The commissioner disclosed this on Saturday during a one-day round-table discussion on the 2017 budget organised by the Nigeria Union of journalists (NUJ) in conjunction with the state government.
He said the present government of Nasir el-Rufai saw this as outrageous and had to stop the purchase of juices and sweets in government offices as well as newspapers.
“We are now buying only two newspapers for commissioners and permanent secretaries. Some of these expenditures were never seen anywhere and some were exaggerated.
“So this government had to look into them critically and correct the mismanagement in order to provide the necessary infrastructure in school and other areas, ” he said
In his own address, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Andrew Nok, said that his ministry received the largest share of the 2017 budget, saying, the sum of N44 billion was earmarked for the ministry.
‘We took over dilapidated structures and untrained teachers. We discovered a Geography teacher who could not spell Geography,” he said.
According to him, the state government inherited 4,253 dilapidated primary schools but could only renovate 400.
Earlier, in her welcome address, the acting chairman of the NUJ, Zhiroh Jatau, noted that the discussion was an opportunity for members of the press and the public to be better informed on what the administration is providing for the overall development of the state.
She said the union was committed to the success of the government, saying, “we will help the government to ensure its full implementation by proper monitoring and reportage in all stages.”